Page 90 - CATALOGUE FLIPBOOK - Interventions in practice

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

The work presents a collection of machines, patterns, capabilities lacking locally—that of the production of small
moulds, and product outcomes illustrating small-scale components and products reliant on rotational casting (and
manufacturing capabilities reliant only on accessible rotational moulding) as the manufacturing processes. This
materials and technologies available to the designer. The process is typically undertaken on medium to large scale
Machine presented is the developed Rotational Casting (for example, large water tanks are rotation moulded), and
Machine Prototype which allows for variable speed control over seen by substantial industry plastic manufacturers. To
for each axis, previously available only in large scale justify production, larger numbers with expensive tooling
industrial ma chines. The presented geometric forms and are required. Scaling this down and using a more accessible
structures initially began as research and development test machine accepting low-cost silicone tooling and 2-part
samples, exploring and documenting the machine speed resin systems (as opposed to higher cost steel or aluminium
settings and the outcomes of the wall-thicknesses of cast moulds and thermoplastics) provides opportunities for
outputs. It then became a collective growing family of increasing accessibility to this production process and
patterns, moulds, and castings, able to continually increase removes reliance on the production requirements and costs
in numbers and complexity as the work unfolded. associated with large industry. Another machine utilised
The work can be seen as the presentation of the extensively in the presented products is a small desktop 3D
Machine, the Tools, and the Products, all falling underneath printer which nowadays can be bought for as low as R1 500,
the umbrella of small-scale manufacturing technologies allowing for it to be grouped into a similar cost bracket to other
and applications. entry-level workshop machines and accessible production
Machines: The central machine illustrated is the technologies. This 3D printer is used during the Design,
Rotational Casting Machine, which is the second Development, Prototype Testing, and finally Pattern-making
prototype machine outcome linked to the PhD research part of the making process.
project being undertaken by the designer. This project Tools: The presented collections of tooling all start with a
identified an opportunity in a niche area of manufacturing design within the CAD (Computer Aided Design) environment,

Ready to Roll. August 2021. 5 Cavity Rotational Mould.
Photograph. 500 mm x 500 mm. August 2021. [Detail].
Photographed by the artist. Installation of objects.
88 89